Posted on June 27, 2017

Commercial real estate is at the crossroads of major global changes. A variety of factors are impacting the industry, from moderate macroeconomic growth and space utilization shifts to changing interest rates and record pricing. Global economies have experienced noticeable slowdowns over the past couple of years, leading many central banks to resort to easing monetary policies, which put interest rates at or near zero. The United States economy, while also moderate, has maintained an upwards growth trajectory, which has cast it as a comparative bright spot in the gloomy global economic landscape.

Commercial real estate investment trends mirrored the global economic slowdown and broader uncertainty over the past year and a half.  Investors took a pause from the strong pace of investments recorded in 2015 as they weighed the impact of economic and geopolitical changes upon markets. Commercial investments in the U.S. echoed the global trends, with sales volume in large cap[i] markets closing the year at $488.6 billion, an 11 percent decline on a yearly basis, according to Real Capital Analytics. The first quarter 2017 sales volume came in at $94.8 billion, an 18 percent drop year-over-year.

Click here to read the full article written by George Ratiu.

Posted June 28, 2017

We are proud to introduce our new association members! The following is a list of individuals who have joined NAIOP Charlotte since March 8th:

• Barrett Blackburn, LandDesign Inc.
• Charlie Blanton, Choate Construction Company
• McKenzie Brady, US Lawns
• Ross Bridgham, Choate Construction Company
• Terry Brown, Horack Talley
• Devin Catlin, Troutman Sanders LLP
• Peter Greve, Pesta, Finnie & Assoc., LLP
• Charles Jonas, Foundry Commercial
• Anthony Lathrop, Moore & Van Allen
• David Lee, Stiles Corporation
• Matthew Main, McVeigh & Mangum Engineering
• Vincent Michalesko, The Fallon Company
• Patrick Nolan, Choate Construction Company
• Melinda Parrish-Brumfield, Bennett & Pless
• Chris Rogers, Metromont Corporation
• William Simerville, Foundry Commercial

Posted on June 26, 2017

Last Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment voted unanimously to advance the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act of 2017, which would reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfield program for the first time since 2006. The program provides funding to states for the cleanup and repurposing of contaminated industrial and commercial sites.

Because of the threat of contamination, as well as liability and other cost concerns, developers and lenders tend to avoid brownfield sites. The EPA program, therefore, plays a major role in helping get projects off the ground in communities across the country. Since its inception in 1995, it has yielded a substantial return on taxpayers’ investment: On average, each dollar spent on brownfield cleanup has leveraged $17.54 of private investment. The program also boosts nearby property values and has resulted in the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs.

The subcommittee also approved H.R. 806, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017, which would delay implementation of the EPA’s controversial new ozone standards and allow the agency to take into account economic and technological feasibility when setting standards in the future. H.R. 806 would also require the EPA to submit a report to Congress detailing the impact of foreign pollution on compliance with these standards.

Posted on June 23, 2017

Advanced Development Practices and Basic Real Estate Finance start the week of August 7. The NAIOP Center for Education online and on-demand courses deliver exceptional education in 10 core competency areas. Read More

Posted on June 26, 2017

During Tuesday's meeting of the Building Development Commission (BDC), Ed Gagnon, a consultant with Customer Service Solutions, Inc. provided a presentation detailing the results of a recently conducted customer satisfaction survey.  Responses indicated those surveyed were generally more pleased than they had been during a similar survey conducted in 2014.  However, the top areas of concern (ability to reach the right person, timeliness of permit request process, and timeliness of inspections) are the same as they were three years ago and appear to be more significant concerns.  For a summary of the results, please click the following link:

LUESA Customer Service Survey 2017

Posted on June 22, 2017

NAIOP celebrates 50 years of advocacy, education and professional excellence.

NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, began in 1967, when nine owners and developers of industrial parks in the eastern U.S. first met on September 12, 1967, near Philadelphia. Their goal was to support the emerging niche of industrial parks by addressing the need for standardized covenants and restrictions, building requirements and beneficial legislation and taxation.

Posted June 15, 2017

The NAIOP Research Foundation has released a new glossary titled "Commercial Real Estate Terms and Definitions." It contains more than 220 terms relating to development, investment, leasing, office, industrial, retail and more.

New terms added this year include:

• 1031 Exchange, or Like-kind Exchange
• Commercial Mortgage-backed Securities (CMBS)
• Fulfillment Center
• Omnichannel (also called "Multichannel") Retail
• Pop-up Retail

Bookmark this resource for future use and utilize other reports published by the Foundation. For the latest news about the Foundation, read the current newsletter or visit naiop.org/foundation.

View the Glossary

Posted June 9, 2017

The Federal Reserve Board is indicating that it intends to increase interest rates twice more this year. But a new report from Real Capital Markets indicates that the expected rate hikes are not causing potential investors to move their purchases up.

“[I]n spite of rate increases dating back to last Fall and the prognosis for even further hikes, investors aren’t motivated to accelerate their acquisition plans in order to lock in rates at what continue to be extremely low rates. According to the survey, almost 63 percent of respondents said interest rate activities will not be the motivating factor,” the report states.

Instead, investors tell Real Capital Markets they are motivated by value.

Posted June 8, 2017

First Uber changed the taxicab industry – now it wants to enter the trucking business. The company is launching a new app that is supposed to make it easier for truckers to find cargo.

“Uber Freight is an app that matches trucking companies with loads to haul. We take the guesswork out of finding and booking freight, which is often the most stressful part of a driver’s day. What used to take several hours and multiple phone calls can now be achieved with the touch of a button,” writes Uber’s Eric Berdinis in a blog post.

The company promises it will pay for every load quickly, “within a few days, fee-free.” If drivers have to wait too long to for a load, Uber promises to compensate them for their time.

Posted June 7, 2017

A report from the rating agency Morningstar finds that the number of urgent care facilities has jumped more than 20 percent since 2014, as aging baby boomers and millennials with young families seek out convenient medical treatment. “About 96 percent of urgent care centers had more patient visits in 2015 compared with the year-earlier period, according to the Urgent Care Association of America,” the report says.

Many of the newer facilities are taking space in former retail buildings such as strip malls.

Posted May 30, 2017

The NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast (released semiannually in Q2 and Q4) gives an efficient, accurate forecast of future and current conditions in the U.S. office real estate market for use by NAIOP members and the real estate community.

The current forecast calls for approximately 39.7 million square feet to be absorbed in 2017 – about 10 million square feet per quarter – similar to the 41.4 million square feet actually absorbed in 2016.

Read the Office Space Demand Forecast, Second Quarter 2017 online, and learn more about how you can support the work of the NAIOP Research Foundation.

View the Current Forecast

Posted May 23, 2017

By: Kelly McBride, Jeff Groh, and Allen Tucker

Increasing demand for cloud-based services is fueling data center leasing activity.

AS ADOPTION of cloud technologies to support the Internet economy and digital content-driven consumption accelerates, demand for third-party data centers that support the cloud-managed service sector is projected to double in the next five years. Globally, the multitenant data centers (MTDC) market is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1 percent between 2015 and 2018. Market absorption for MTDCs, measured in megawatts (MW), is increasing exponentially in many U.S. metro areas, which currently represent 44 percent of the global market. 

Today’s data center IT decision makers are using increasingly sophisticated criteria when they shop for space and power. The “big six” data center REITs — Equinix, Digital Realty, DuPont Fabros Technology, CoreSite Realty, CyrusOne and QTS — have continued their development binge, while smaller MTDC players also made some notable acquisitions in 2016.  As the data center market grows, cloud providers want to bring data applications and storage closer to consumers while decreasing latency and increasing reliability, opening new markets for potential data center construction. More flexible buildouts are allowing diverse players to enter a market once dominated by only the largest providers.

Posted May 23, 2017

Landlords and tenants have a shared interest in designing office environments that foster collaboration and innovation, with the goal of attracting talented workers and enhancing their job satisfaction, well-being and productivity.

Posted May 23, 2017

Not surprisingly, what people think about technology seems to depend on when they were born.

Coldwell Banker Commercial surveyed CRE professionals and broke the results down into two groups: those 45 and younger, and those older than 45. In those groups, 65 percent of younger workers think the CRE industry is lagging behind other businesses in its use of technology. Some 68 percent of the older professionals say technology adoption is keeping pace with other industries.

When it comes to ease of use, 80 percent of the younger workers say they’re comfortable with technology, while only 58 percent of older workers say they are. Older workers are more likely to think personal relationship skills are more important than technology.

View the Report

Posted May 18, 2017

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) has scheduled a hearing of the full committee for this Thursday, May 18, intended to show how tax reform will grow the economy by generating investments and creating jobs. The hearing is the first major action the committee has taken since President Donald Trump announced his tax reform plan – a broad statement of overarching goals with little detail.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Brady said that the committee would hear “from witnesses about specific policy proposals that deliver the most economic growth and how our ideas will directly help hardworking taxpayers and the businesses that create jobs across America.”

The hearing is seen as a first step by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep. Brady to revive interest in features of their tax reform plan which have garnered strong opposition among Senate Republicans, including a “border adjustment tax” that would raise the costs of imported goods by 20 percent. Also controversial are provisions of the House plan that would affect commercial real estate, including the elimination of Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, the loss of deductibility of business debt interest, and issues concerning the continued capital gains tax treatment of real estate partnership carried interests.

Posted May 10, 2017

Production line employees in the United States have been watching for years as their jobs are replaced by robots. Lawyers may be next.

“Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and Their Impact on the Workplace,” a report from the International Bar Association, warns that artificial intelligence and algorithms may soon replace as many as one-third of graduate-level jobs around the world.

The report breaks the industrial age into four chapters: 1) Industrialization, 2) Electrification, 3) Digitization and 4) Industry 4.0.

Posted May 10, 2017

Childress Klein and Beacon Partners will host the 10th Annual Six on Six Volleyball Classic on May 11th, 2017. The event will pit teams from the Charlotte commercial real estate industry in a head to head competition that promotes camaraderie and networking while raising awareness and support for local charities.

May 11, 2017 11:am-5:00pm
VBGB 920 Hamilton Street, Charlotte NC
100% of the proceeds will benefit Charlotte Housing Authority

Click here to register and for more information.

Posted May 10, 2017

By: Patricia Raicht

Redevelopment of former newspaper headquarters and other facilities is becoming big business in more markets, as news companies offload valuable real estate with great structural bones in high-quality locations.

RISING PROPERTY values resulting from heightened demand among tech companies and other tenants for urban settings, combined with the downtown location of many newspaper headquarters, have created an opportunity for news organizations. Many that own their headquarters or print facilities are monetizing those investments, selling to investors and developers looking to convert the buildings to apartments, hotels and other forms of in-demand real estate. Others are maintaining at least partial ownership of their property while partnering with developers and investors to generate additional revenue.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted: May 10, 2017

During a recent visit with REBIC, County Manager Dena Diorio discussed LUESA’s ongoing implementation of a new Electronic Plans Management system, as well as other technology improvements currently under development. Here are some key takeaways from the conversation:

Q: What can Code Enforcement customers expect in terms of improvements form the replacement of the electronic plans management system? 

A: The following are some of the major improvements that are being designed for the upgrade: